UVM Department of Psychological Science

Congratulations from the UVM Psych Science faculty to all seniors, master’s, and doctoral students graduating in 2026!

Recently, students from Dr. Liz Pinel’s ‘Eastern Perspectives on Health’ class did a cooking demo at the Osher Center! - #uvmpsychsci

Don’t forget about the last installment of the 2025-2026 Full Professor Lecture Series, featuring our wonderful Department Chair and Professor, Dr. Jamie Abaied! Coming up this Wednesday (4/29)! The lecture will begin at 4:30 in the John Dewey Lounge, Old Mill. We’re excited to see you there!

As our semester comes to a close, we reflect on all the amazing events and work put into making it special. Here’s student shoutout to our wonderful Psi Chi officers for all the hard work and dedication to our campus chapter! Pictured right to left: John DePalma, Emma Osbourne, Teagan Lacoste, Emma Reardon, Emily Clifton. Current Psi Chi members — if you are interested in stepping up into a leadership role, such as Treasurer of Psi Chi, self nominations are due on Wednesday, April 22nd! Reach out to [email protected] with your response!

Some of our Psychological Science students presenting their posters/presentations at the Student Research Conference yesterday! Pictured: Caroline McGlinchy, John DePalma, Shahrzad Ahmadkaraji, and Kyla Davidson. Thank you to FOUR and UES for such a great event!

Congratulations to our 2026 Psychological Science Senior Award recipients. We are very proud of your hard work and dedication to this amazing field! - - - #uvmpsychologicalscience #neuroscience #awards #classof2026

Dr. Hammack is the Director of the Neuroscience graduate program here at UVM! He first earned a B.S. from Florida State University. There was no set neuroscience degree there at the time, so he approached his studies in a biological psychology (Biopsych!) lens. “I majored in Psychology and minored in Biology, and yeah, I just really loved it”. He then went on to pursue both a Masters and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Colorado. His research centers on understanding the mechanisms that mediate stress, emotion, and resilience by integrating a wide range of research methodology. With such a comprehensive and impressive background, I asked Dr. Hammack when he reached a point in his research that he felt he could “study it forever.” “I sort of had a different approach,” He answered. Graduate school was full of ups and downs, burnout, and at times, he wasn’t 100% sure if he wanted to pursue it. It was very honest and very human. He emphasized the importance of stepping back and reflecting often if you can see a passion in your work and if it’s truly for you. “Luck, pure luck”, was his response when I asked him about what led him to Vermont. “So that year, I was looking for a job. I literally applied to Hawaii, San Diego, Montana... Out of all those places, UVM, most overlapped with my work.” Which I can say we are all very grateful for, as he has taught and mentored hundreds of Psychology students who are eager to research the processes of neuroscience. In his free time, Dr. Hammack loves music, and is a very avid mandolin player and singer. He couldn’t name his favorite songs or bands because there are too many to even consider. It was a pleasure to interview you, Dr. Hammack! Make sure to say hello if you see him in Dewey. #uvmfacultyfeature #neuro #uvmpsychologicalscience

Congratulations to the 2026 inductees into UVM’s chapter of Psi Chi! #psichi

The Psychological Science Department welcomes Dr. Joey Dunsmoor as our spring colloquium speaker on Wednesday, April 8th in Dewey 100. His presentation centers on his functional MRI lab work to analyze and decipher fear and extinction memories. The event starts promptly at 3 pm. We hope to see you there!

This year’s Psi Chi Induction Ceremony has been rescheduled to Wednesday, April 8 at 7 PM in the Alumni House - Silver Pavilion! Psi Chi is the International Honor Society in Psychology. It was founded in 1929 with a mission to encourage excellence in scholarship and advance the science of psychology. All are welcome to attend to celebrate this year’s inductees, there will also be free refreshments and food served! Can’t wait to see you there! - #psichi #uvm #psychology

Your future Psychological Science Career Field and your matching Jellycat! What do you think? Which field should we do next?

We are now accepting applications and conducting interviews for the Fall 2026 Fit Kids: Early Learning Focus (PSYS 3450) service-learning course. This 4-credit course offers psychology and neuroscience majors and minors a valuable opportunity to gain hands-on experience administering a physical activity intervention and promoting social-emotional development in local preschools. For more information about the application process please contact Erin Shoulberg ([email protected])😺